Angel
by Keruseyu
Summary: Kel was a regular 3-year-old little girl with a family that loved her. That was then. 4 years later, she's an orphan, paralyzed from the waist down, and dying of terminal lukemia. Stuck in her hospital room, Kel has nothing but books and her window to con
1. Through the window

Angel   
  
by Keruseyu  
  
===  
  
Angel  
  
You're here, angel  
  
You helped me, angel.  
  
Come back soon, angel  
  
Cause' I need your help, angel   
  
I'm all alone down here, angel  
  
No one cares but you, angel  
  
And I love you so much, angel,  
  
Please come back soon, angel.  
  
Angel...  
  
===  
  
Keladry Mindelan stared through her window, marveling at all the bustle and life outside of it. The window itself was slightly cracked, giving her access to the music of the real world. From the whisper of the wind to the honking of cars, each note fascinated her. She was enraptured by the noise, smells, sights- the ingrediants that made the real world seem like a dream to her.   
  
She sighed, delight fading at the bleak thought that banished all happiness. She would never experience this world, this dream- to her, it was just that. A dream, an illusion of what others had but she could not attain. She would be locked in this room, this building, until the day she died. Other people would live life, enjoy it, and never know about the lonely soul of a little seven-year-old girl who was paralyzed from the waist down. They would never know that this same seven-year-old had terminal lukemia, or that she was an orphan. They would never know that she had seen her father and mother die before her very eyes in the brutal car crash- the same crash that had rendered her legs useless. They would never know, never care, never feel anything besides their own pain. They would feel sorry for themselves over a minor thing like a bad hair day, when she had been confined to a wheelchair almost all of her life- first from chemotherapy, then permanently from her paralysis.   
  
She wheeled herself over to her nightstand, where a faded picture stood. It pictured a happy looking brown-haired 3-year-old, framed by two tall adults- her parents. The picture had been taken two years before their deaths, and just before they had learned of her lukemia. She stared at her mother. The photo was slightly blurred, probably because she had spilled water on it a few days after it was made. The woman had a slim body and already-white hair, though she was only 26. She stared hard at her 3-year-old self, with her head full of short, bouncy brown locks. It bothered her, being bald. She wore colorful kerchiefs to cover it, but it stung all the same. She couldn't even picture herself with hair. Kel sighed and went back to studying her parents.   
  
Her father was a slightly solemn brown-haired man, but he had caring in his twinkling eyes. They looked perfectly normal. The day after the photo was taken, she had gotten a concussion. While at the hospital, they found signs of terminal lukemia, and, when investigating it further, diagnosed her. That day her parents had been hurrying to the hospital for a chemotherapy treatment, and her father had gone faster than he should have on account of their lack of punctuality. It had been a cold, rainy day, and her father had slid and ran into a telephone pole. Both her mother and father were killed instantly, but she only had a cuts, several bruises, and, of course, her paralysis. The doctors said they were sorry before leaving her to the nurses and going about their business. And it had been that way her whole life. Other than tranferring hospitals every now and then, it was all the same- take medicine, treatments, and then be left in her room for the main part of the day with a cracked window and a shelf full of books to keep her occupied.   
  
Not that she minded- she loved books- but she had read each at least twice. Sighing in a mixture of boredom and defeat, she plucked her favorite book off the shelf. It was 'Heidi', the tale of a little girl who was made to live with her grandfather. Her grandfather lives high in the Switzerland mountains, and has a bad reputation, but his heart softens when he meets Heidi. They live peacefully until her aunt takes Heidi away to a large city to keep company with a rich little girl named Clara Seseman. Clara is confined to a wheelchair, and needs a friend. So she and Heidi become fast friends. But Heidi pines for her grandfather, so she is eventually sent back to the mountains and her home. Clara comes to visit her, and mountain living suits her so well that she becomes better. Kel liked the story for Clara, the little girl who learned to walk. When she was smaller, she had believed that maybe she herself could learn to walk again. But after a few tries, the nurses caught her at it and forced her back into her chair. Kel had been greatly upset, but was forbidden further attempts at walking.   
  
The nurses chattered that she was a crazy child, to think of walking like that. By listening to these craggy women, Kel had learned two things- that she would never be able to walk again, and, from the kinder nurses who agrued that she should be able to try, that she was to die. She learned this by their constant remarks. If she requested a cookie, or more books, the meaner nurses would not give them to her- until a nicer nurse came and told them that since she was to die soon, they might as well keep her happy.   
  
Kel wasn't happy. She had books, good food, people who were nice to her- all because "the poor thing's going to die soon." She just wanted some one to treat her normally. But she was allowed almost no visitors- she didn't have any- and was seldom permitted to talk to other invalids. It was both impatience and fate that brought her what she wanted.  
  
===  
  
It was a stormy day, and the world beyond her window was dreary and wet. It was a dull time- just between the morning rush and noon. There was still around a hour before the streets would fill and be worth watching. A new book had just arrived- it was 'Sabriel' by Garth Nix- but though she found it quite fascinating, she could not keep its words focused in her mind. She was restless- and abnormal occurance for her- and wanted to be out and about more than ever before.   
  
Kel began forming an escape in her mind. The lunch hour was coming up, and most nurses and doctors left the hospital to go out and get food. The halls were sparse and most of the remaining doctors and nurses were made to watch the more eccentric patients. Since Kel had never caused much trouble, them dismissed her as calm, composed, and sensible. Which she was not- they were completely ignorant to her true feelings. Ten minutes later, the lunch bell rang- and ten minutes after that, she met the first- and last- friend she would ever have.  
  
===  
  
Yay! One chappie up! 


	2. The coming of a friend

Angel  
  
by Keruseyu  
  
This story is dedicated to Cymarel, a good friend of mine.   
  
Discalimer: I did not write any of the Tamora Pierce stories. If I did, would I be writing a fanfic?  
  
===  
  
The faint swish of wheels filled the empty, dead hall. Kel stopped heaving on the wheels of her chair to rest, panting from the exertion of powering herself up and down the hospital hallways. She had used the back halls to menuever, and hadn't met anyone yet- patient or doctor. She continued on, heading for the double doors at the end of the hallway. She managed to push herself to them before stopping short. A low, sobbing noise echoed through the hallways, coming from the doors. She gulped and bravely pushed them open, revealing a hallway identical to the one she had just left. The noise sounded again, coming from the right side of the hallway.   
  
The right hand wall was covered with doors. These doors sported bland metal doorknobs, each smooth and cold. These particular doors- unlike many in the hospital- boasted small windows at the top of each one, giving a view to those who were tall enough. Kel might have been able to jump and see through them- if she could use her legs. So she made due by hoisting herself up on the armrests. From there, she moved to the back of the chair. Being a small child- she was really very skinny from her chemo treatmeants- and the chair being very sturdy, she managed to peer into the door. It was luck- or perhaps fate- that it was the right door.   
  
Inside the painfully blank room was a boy, perched with his arms around his knees on the window sile. He wore dark clothes that contasted vibrantly with his pale skin and big green eyes. Brown hair flopped, limp, againt his head. From the pinched look on his face, Kel supposed he hadn't eaten in a while. She debated bothering him. The argument was brief, resulting in her settling herself back onto her chair and knocking solemnly.   
  
"Come in." The voice was harsh with either pain or hunger, of which, she did not know. She rattled the doorknob timidly. The large door was at least three times heavier than the double doors in each hallway. She turned the doorknob all the way over and heaved, mangaging to open it a few inches. She grinned and shoved again. This time it opened wide enough to permit her wheelchair. She rolled inside, closing the door after her, despite the fact that she was panting heavily.   
  
"Oh, can't you nurses even open a freaking door without-" He turned, startled into silence. Kel smiled. "Hello!" Now that she got a closer look, she could make out the tear streaks on his face. He looked to be around 11, she guessed. "W-who are you?" He wiped the tears off his face hastily, embarrased to be crying in front of a girl. "I'm Kel." She held out her hand. He hesitated a moment, then shook her hand gingerly. "I'm Neal." He scratched his head nervously, fumlbing for words. "What are you here for?" He asked softly. Kel motioned towards her wheelchair. "Paralysis." The boy- Neal- looked puzzled. "They can't possibly keep you here for that, can they?" He asked quizically, his head cocked to one side. Kel faltered. She didn't want to tell him about her condition. "Do you have cancer?" Kel looked up, startled. He smiled. "Don't worry, I don't mind." She didn't want him to know. "How did you-"   
  
He pointed to her kerchief. "Easy. So, how long do you have to stay? Do you only come for chemo, then go home?" Kel shook her head. "You mean you live here?" She nodded.   
  
"Don't your parents come see you then? What are they like?" Kel tried to speak, but the boy continued chattering, unaware of her unease. She listened idly to his babble, searching for an opening. "NEAL!" He stopped and stared at her. "What?" He asked blandly. "They're dead." He blanched. "I-I'm sorry..." He stammered. Kel smiled. "S'okay. I don't remember them, so it doesn't bother me that much."   
  
Their conversation went along like this for quite a while, until they were interrupted by Kel's frantic nurse. "KEL! Oh my goodness! Here you are!" The frazzled woman looked rather stressed, and Kel felt almost sorry for her. "Hello, Cheryl. How nice to see you!" Kel smiled at the nurse. "What in the world were you doing out of your room, young lady?" Kel's eyes flashed. "I have the right to move about freely. I've just never tried it, that's all." The nurse glared at Neal, who looked like he was about to laugh. She hmphed and began to wheel Kel's chair towards the door. "Seeya, Neal! Come visit me!!!" Neal smiled.   
  
It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  
  
===  
  
Here we go again! Thanks for all the reviews, folks! I wuv you all! 


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